This disclosure generally relates to optical fibers and, more particularly, to methods and systems for cleaving optical fibers.
Optical fibers are useful in a wide variety of applications, including the telecommunications industry for voice, video, and data transmissions. In a telecommunications system that uses optical fibers, there are typically many locations where fiber optic cables that carry the optical fibers connect to equipment or other fiber optic cables. To conveniently provide these connections, fiber optic connectors are often provided on the ends of fiber optic cables. The process of terminating individual optical fibers from a fiber optic cable is referred to as “connectorization.” Connectorization can be done in a factory, resulting in a “pre-connectorized” or “pre-terminated” fiber optic cable, or in the field (e.g., using a “field-installable” fiber optic connector).
Regardless of where installation occurs, a fiber optic connector typically includes a ferrule with one or more bores that receive one or more optical fibers. The ferrule supports and positions the optical fiber(s) with respect to a housing of the fiber optic connector. Thus, when the housing of the fiber optic connector is mated with another fiber optic connector or adapter, an optical fiber in the ferrule is positioned in a known, fixed location relative to the housing. This allows an optical communication to be established when the optical fiber is aligned with another optical fiber provided in the mating component (the other fiber optic connector or adapter).
The bores of the ferrule in a fiber optic connector extend to a front of the ferrule. With such a design, an optical fiber can be inserted into and passed through the ferrule. Either before of after securing the optical fiber relative to the ferrule (e.g., by using a bonding agent in the bore), an optical surface may be formed on the optical fiber. One conventional method of forming an optical surface involves a mechanical cleaving step followed by several mechanical polishing steps. Such methods can be time-consuming and labor-intensive due to the number of polishing steps that may be required to form an optical surface of high quality.
Various techniques for laser cleaving and polishing an optical fiber are also known, both before and after insertion into a ferrule. Although these techniques may help reduce or eliminate some of the mechanical polishing steps associated with forming an optical surface, there remains room for improvement.